Opera Jitters
by FictionFantasy VI
Summary: What if we take a peek backstage before Celes' performance at the Opera House. Is she really the firm and resolute soldier she would have everyone believe she is? Or do even Generals have fits of nervousness? Find out... warning: first fic ever oneshot!


-1 As I waited for my cue to appear onstage, I started messing with the ruffles on the costume dress I was wearing. Now why was I doing that? It's not like I'm nervous or anything, I mean I was a General for Goddess's sake! My hands are just doing unnecessary things. Yeah… that's all it is, I'm not nervous.

As the lights began to dim my heart starts to pound. I start fiddling with the blue ribbon in my hair as I think back to Locke's visit backstage just a half-hour ago. This was just a ruse to get that wandering gambler guy to show up so we could ride his airship to Vector, so why didn't Locke mention anything about it? I had assumed that the reason he came backstage was to confirm the plan, but instead he tells me not to get nervous and forget my lines. The nerve of that thief! As if I would be nervous about something so trivial as this. I've faced down monsters and entire armies without so much of a second of hesitation. There is definitely no way that I'd be nervous about something so small as singing and acting on stage. I'm simply getting jitters because I'm excited, that's all.

It's almost time for me to go on. The Narrator is almost done with his introduction. When he finishes its all spotlight on me. I wonder how I actually look in this dress. It looked very beautiful from a certain standpoint but I wonder if I really look good in this dress. Having been raised as a soldier all my life, I had never much cared about how I looked or what clothes I should wear. I would always wear the same uniform anyway so there was no point. Locke had said that the blue ribbon fit me, but he never said anything about the overall costume. I wonder if Locke will think that I look better in a uniform than a dress. Wait…why am I even thinking about this? I shouldn't really care. And I am definitely not nervous about what people think about me, especially Locke and the others. I'm a General after all…I don't get nervous.

I can hear the Narrator finishing his lines. _Thump. Thump._ I don't have time to be thinking about this, the music for my song is already starting! _Thump. Thump._ Damnit! My heart won't stop pounding and I'm already onstage! _Thump. Thump. Thump. _As the spotlight turns to me, I find myself unable to speak and much less sing. I know the lines, I rehearsed them hundreds of times over but…..for some reason they feel stuck in my throat. What's going on? I'm not nervous…am I? There's no way this could be happening to me, a hardcore and trained General….could it?

In order to keep myself from running offstage I look over the audience. As I scan the huge audience gathered in the opera my eyes land on three particular faces in the front row of the balcony seats. There, fidgeting around in his seat(and looking very uncomfortable in a tux) was Sabin giving me a thumbs up and looking incredibly stupid in that goofy grin. To his left was his brother, Edgar, trying to keep him sitting still and not doing a very good job of it I might add. As I laughed mentally at the funny display my eyes wandered to the next seat…the seat with Locke in it. Instead of looking like he was going to burst out laughing at my red face(because I'm sure my face was beet red), he just sat there, arms folded an completely still, with a calm and gentle expression….smiling.

My moment of hesitation seemed to have taken an eternity even though in reality it was probably only a few seconds. I don't know why, but Locke's smile and Edgar and Sabin's antics seem to have a calming effect on me. I open my mouth to sing and soon I feel the words and movements flow like natural through my mind and body. While I hold the bouquet close to my chest I breathe my thoughts into them. Maybe I am a little nervous…and I guess that even Generals can get stage fright but….It's not like I'll ever admit that out loud…because I am a General after all. As I throw the bouquet and watch it fly away, I feel all my nervousness and hesitation disappear with it, and I laugh slightly as I realize that Locke was right, I really did have Opera jitters.

_THE END_


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